Senator Hatch: ‘A Six-Year Highway Bill is a Great Goal’

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said during a Thursday hearing that his preference is for lawmakers to pass a long-term extension to avoid repeats of the upcoming "highway cliff."

"I want to make it clear at the outset that my goal as chairman of this committee to find a way to fund a long-term infrastructure bill," he said before ticking of a list of challenges that will make it difficult for Congress to craft such a measure in the next six weeks.

"Long story short, a six-year highway bill is a great goal," Hatch continued. "I’m committed to working to get us as close to that goal as possible."

Lawmakers are grappling with a shortfall in transportation spending that is estimated to be about $16 billion per year, and they have not passed an infrastructure package that lasts longer than two years since 2005.